The American Rodeo East Finals Begin in Kentucky as Field Narrows

The first of three regional finals has kicked off as part of The American Rodeo. April 9 through 11, Lexington, Kentucky, hosts rodeo contestants who are taking their best shot at becoming eligible to win the $2 million ultimate prize.

This will be the last year that the prize could be as big as $2 million. The American Rodeo announced that 2026 would be the final year that the prize money would “carry forward” from year to year. No one was lucky enough to win the $1 million in 2025, thus making the pot double for 2026.

In order to qualify, contestants have to compete multiple times on their journey to the ultimate stage. First, they compete in qualifiers across the country to earn a spot at one of three regional finals.

When they arrive at the Regional competition, they will have to make two more runs (if they are timed-event contestants) to be in the top 10 of the aggregate and move on to the Regional finals.

The final performance of the regionals will narrow it down to just the top five in the Region that will then advance on to the American Rodeo Semi-Finals. Here the 15 contestants (top 5 from each region) will meet and go head-to-head on one run to once again narrow it down to just five who will go to the main American Rodeo.

Contestants Who Earned the Right To Advance to Performances

The action has commenced in Lexington and the roster has been reduced to who will be competing in the performances in the tie-down and breakaway on day number one. The barrel racers have also made one run and will come back on Friday for the second round of competition to determine the top 10 in the average race.

When the tie-down ropers rode in the arena, many had their hands full with the calves that entered the chute. Zack Jongbloed took top honors in the first round of competition with his 9.5-second run. Cross Fulford was close behind with a 9.6 and finishing the top three was Andrew Burks who stopped the clock at 9.67.

Round two got faster for the cowboys and Brodey Clemons wasn’t about to miss out on the money available. The young up-and-comer will cash the checks for both first and second in the round after tying his calves in 8.45 and 8.83 seconds. He actually split second place with Bobby Abernathy who posted the same 8.83-second run.

The most important results in regard to moving on are the average where the top 10 earn the right to compete on Saturday night in the finals.

Top 10 Tie-Down Average

Andrew Burks 18.96/2
Zack Jongbloed 19.06/2
Cross Fulford 19.5/2
Bobby Abernathy 21.13/2
Brodey Clemons 21.54/2
Dakota Felton 23.14/2
Treyton Faulk 23.24/2
Cason Kingsbury 23.33/2
Bryce Derrer 24.56/2
Macon Murphy 25.57/2

Joining these 10 will be three from the redemption round and one from a Super Qualifier. Those will be: Cole Clemmons, Cruz Melanson, Cynch Whitesell and Jesse Clifton.

When the breakaway girls nod their heads, you'd better be paying attention because everything happens fast in this event. The most time spent is backing in the box. The competitors in Kentucky didn’t prove those assumptions wrong.

In Round No. 1, Alex Poole set the stage in a big way, earning first and second place. Altogether, she did less than four seconds' worth of work. Her first-place time was 1.76, and she followed that up with a 1.93 to be the top of the leaderboard. Rounding out the top three was Beau Peterson with a 1.95.

Round two brought more heat to the arena. Two cowgirls tied for the top spot with their 1.8-second runs. Harley Pryor and Kaydence Tindall will get to cash those checks.

In less time than it takes to blink an eye, Amy Ohrt had to settle for third with her smoking fast 1.81-second run. The top five ladies were split by a mere .03-seconds. Google says that a blink of an eye takes between .1 and .4 seconds. Just imagine how fast these ladies are and how close the times are, splitting such a huge opportunity.

Top 10 Breakaway Roping Average

Emmry Edwards 4.27/2
Kelsie Reininger 4.37/2
Beau Peterson 4.43/2
Jill Tanner 4.73/2
Rylie Edens 5.13/2
Kelsie Domer 5.47/2
Kearstyn Betts 5.49/2
Rickie Fanning 6.18/2
Kathryn Smith 6.65/2
Lydia Townson 6.68/2

The add-ons from the redemption and Super Qualifier are: Coralee Massey, Haiden Thompson, Amy Ohrt, and Amelie Coutu.

The barrel racers and team ropers will finish their competitions Friday, along with the full set of rough stock cowboys who will compete on Friday night. Then the final stage will be set to see who will compete Saturday night to try to make the top 5 to advance to the Semi-finals.